Current Affairs

10th March 2008

10:22 AM — A group that works for the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans in the Roman Catholic church is planning a series of protests against Pope Benedict during his visit to the US next month.The Rainbow Sash Movement said it is calling on "Catholics of good will" to take the Papal visit as an opportunity to shower the Pope mobile with ashes instead of confetti."Ashes are an ancient and appropriate greeting for a sinner who has caused the Church so much division and pain," RSM said in a statement.

9th March 2008

11:40 PM — Pro-gay, socialist Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has won re-election this evening as voters ignored worries about the economy and the Basque militants.Although with 92 per cent of the votes counted, the Socialist party will not have an absoloute majority, it is understood he will form an alliance with smaller parties in order to govern the country."The Spanish people have spoken clearly and decided to start a new era," Mr Zapatero told supporters.

5:30 PM — Seen by many as the Ralph Nader of the Republican party, Ron Paul issued his swan song of sorts to the tune of seeking out more money.It seems the Presidential hopeful will still visit any state in which the "enthusiasm for liberty exists," and accept cheques made payable to his Political Action Committee.But for now, it would seem, his bid to become President of the United States is done.

5:30 PM — He may have won the Republican Party nomination for Presidential candidate but this week John McCain let his temper flair when questioned about a potential former move to represent the Democratic Party.A New York Times reporter questioned McCain about conversations he had with 2004 Democrat nominee John Kerry about becoming a running mate which prompted a rather telling outburst.On Friday during a QA with reporters, Times staffer Elisabeth Bumiller posed the question.

3:00 AM — Liam Fox, Conservative shadow defence secretary, displayed homophobic credentials whilst at university, an investigation by the Sunday Herald has found.The Tory MP, who stood against David Cameron in the 2005 Conservative Party leadership content, resigned as a member of the University of Glasgow's student council in protest at a gay and lesbian society being admitted to the Glasgow University Union (GUU).He apparently said at the time: "[I do] not want the gays flaunting it in front of me, which is what they would do".

7th March 2008

7:35 PM — Unpaid foreign policy adviser Samantha Power has walked away from Barack Obama's Presidential campaign after describing New York Senator Hillary Clinton as a "monster" to a Scottish publication.Clinton's camp pushed for Obama to drop Power from his team, but the Harvard professor and author resigned after apologising for her inappropriate comment."It is wrong for anyone to pursue this campaign in such negative and personal terms," she said.

4:25 PM — An independent inquiry into human rights in Britain is to be carried out almost ten years after the original Act was passed, it was announced today.The investigation comes after a poll for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) showed that the term 'human rights' still prompts mixed reactions from a large population of the British public.Former Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman Dame Nuala O'Loan will be leading the inquiry.

4:10 PM — Well-known British artists such as Anthony Gormley, Banksy and Catherine Yass donated works to an auction in London last night to raise funds for Ken Livingstone's election campaign.The event at the Aquarium Gallery in Farringdon raised more than £230,000."London's openness and tolerance has made it one of the most creative cities in the world," Mr Livingstone said last night.

1:20 PM — Two lesbian lovers have been jailed for life after bludgeoning a British girl to death in Australia because they found her "annoying."Jessica Stasinowsky, 21 and Valerie Parashumti, 19, pleaded guilty to murdering 16-year old Stacey Mitchell, whose family had moved to Australia from West Moors, Dorset in 2001.The court was told that the two women became sexually aroused as they beat the teenager with a concrete block and made a mobile phone video of the murder scene.

11:40 AM — A 49-year-old German monk may face criminal charges after he was caught steal gay porn DVDs from a shop.A search of his room at the medieval Abbey of Maria Laach in Rhineland-Palatine found more than 200 similar DVDs.The Benedictine monk was challenged when he tried to steal four DVDs from a sex shop in the Bavarian city of Würzburg, reports Abendzeitung newspaper.

11:00 AM — The government of Spain looks set to win another term of office in Sunday's election, according to polling data.The current Prime Minister and leader of the Socialist party, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has vowed to protect the gay rights legislation he has introduced since taking office in 2004.In Spain it is illegal to publish opinion polls during the last five days of an election campaign. The Times commissioned and yesterday publshed one from the Spanish polling company Sigma Dos.

10:30 AM — As far as Republican governors go, Charlie Crist appears to be a pretty good guy.He comes across as fair, smart, even-handed and independent in his thinking, and he has even broken ranks with conservatives from time to time to do what he perceives to be the right thing.And while he doesn't support gay marriage or gay adoption, he has publicly supported gay civil unions, which, socially, pretty much puts him miles ahead of the majority of his Republican colleagues.

6th March 2008

6:00 PM — A lawyer from Lambda Legal has welcomed a ruling by a New York State judge upholding the state's policy of recognising Canadian marriages of same-sex couples for purposes of spousal health insurance coverage for public employees."Yet another court is saying that respect for out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples is the law in New York," said Susan Sommer, Senior Counsel.Lambda Legal is a US-wide organisation committed to achieving full recognition of LGBT civil rights.

5:30 PM — A Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) hearing on the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships will take place in Paris tomorrow.The 47-member Council of Europe predates the European Union. It promotes and protects democracy, educational and sporting co-operation and created the European Court of Human Rights.The hearing will involve representatives of the International Lesbian and Gay Association ILGA Europe as well as parliamentarians and academics.

4:40 PM — A concerted campaign by gay rights activists on behalf of a gay teenager facing deportation to Iran and possible execution has pushed his plight into the national press.This morning The Independent newspaper devoted its front page to 19-year-old Medhi Kazemi, who fled to the Netherlands last year after his appeal for asylum in the UK was refused.His story was first reported on PinkNews.co.uk on February 19th. He appeared in a Dutch court yesterday asking to be allowed to remain in the Netherlands.

3:25 PM — The three leading candidates for Mayor of London have confirmed they will take part in hustings organised by gay equality organisation Stonewall.Ken Livingstone, Boris Johnson and Brian Paddick will answer questions from the gay community on Saturday 19th April.PinkNews.co.uk is proud to be Stonewall's media partner for the hustings, which will be held at the BFI Southbank between 11am and 12.30pm.

11:44 AM — A parliamentary committee in the Ukraine has recommended that the state take steps to repress "homosexualism, lesbianism, other sexual perversions, which do not correspond to moral principles of the society."The Committee on the Issues of Freedom of Speech and Information's stance follows letters from MPs claiming that gay and lesbian people threaten national security and contradict the national interest.

10:35 AM — Though Hillary Clinton took Texas with the popular vote in the primaries, Barack Obama regained some lost ground by winning the state's caucus, which accounts for one-third of the state's delegates.But the win is bittersweet, with the Clinton campaign crying foul, saying it might mount a legal challenge to the state's caucus results.Clinton's camp is citing what it says are "hundreds of complaints" they received accusing the Obama campaign of mischief.

5th March 2008

5:40 PM — The Equality and Human Rights Commission has taken up the case of a 56-year-old married man who was repeatedly taunted at work about being gay because he lives in Brighton.An employment tribunal and an appeal tribunal have both rejected his claims of sexual discrimination.Stephen English suffered years of abuse and insinuation from colleagues at Thomas Sanderson Blinds, based near Portsmouth, where he had worked in sales.

10:51 AM — He took all four, and with Mitt Romney out of the way and Mike Huckabee officially bowing out gracefully, John McCain has locked up the GOP presidential nomination with wins in Texas, Rhode Island, Vermont and Ohio. His victory tonight was somewhat anti-climactic.McCain has emerged as a clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination on Super Tuesday, shortly after which Romney bowed out and offered his endorsement.

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